Book-leaf holder



(No Model.) J. D. MGCLURE.

BOOK LEAF HOLDER.

180,824,897.V PatentedAug. 181885..

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f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE DQMCGLURE, OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA.

BooK-LEAF HOLDER SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 324,397, dated August I8, 1885.

Application tiled \p.il 2, 1885. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEssE D. MCCLURE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jeffersonville, in the county of Clark and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book-Leaf Holders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inven tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to that class of devices which are employed in holdingthe leaves of books, music, &c., open and still upon a suitable shelf convenient for the reader; and

kit has for its object to provide a book-leaf holder which will adapt itself to a Aplane at any angle,so as to hold asingle sheet of paper or to adapt itself to the two open pages of a book, so as to hold both leaves, whether the two sides be equal or unequal in thickness, and to provide means whereby such a holder may be readily attached to or detached from any shelf, table, or desk, so that the same may be a portable article o1" manufacture.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts forniing a book-leaf holder, hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a book, a portion of a shelf, and my leaf-holder in service. Fig. 2 is a central transverse vertical section of the same, and Fig. 3 showsa modification of the securing device. Fig. 4 is a detail view of a modification of the spring and shoe.

A represents a shelf, and B a book placed thereon in position to be read.

@represents the arms of my device, adapted to bear their extremities on the two leaves of a book to hold the book open. These arms are rigidly secured in a head, D, which is journaled upon the stem Q of a sector, E, to rotate thereon,in order that the arms may rock from side to side in adjusting themselves to the position of the book. The stem of the sector may be headed, as at S, and a pin, R, passing 'through the head D and by theneck of the stem, may loosely secure the head and arms upon the sector; or any similar mode of securing the head to rotate on the stem 'may be adopted. The sector is pivoted at F in the fork of astandard, G, so that the tw`o arms may rise and fall to suit the different thicknesses of common books, and so that they may be thrown up entirely out of service, 'as in Fig. 2, so that the leaves of the book may be turned, the dotted linesG showing the lowest position of the arms in service.

H is a spring coiled around thestandard and pressing a shoe, J, upward against the sector E. When the extremities `of the armsv are raised, they cause the lower corner, K, of the sector to press down upon the shoe. This movement being resisted by the spring, always actuates the arms to press down upon the book until when the arms are intentionally raised above their working level, so that the corner K of the sectorpasses the center line of the shoe, then the pressure of the spring tends to hold the arms raised, as in Fig. 2. The shoe might be dispensed with by shaping the spring with a cross-tongue passing thro ugh the slot in place of the shoe, to act directly against the sector, as shown in Fig. 4; but I prefer to use the shoe, as shown.

The standard is secured to the shelf by means of a plate, L, and set-screw M; and for convenience of adapt-ing it to extremely thick books it is provided with a vertical slot, N, through which the screw M passes, and the post may thereby be raised or lowered on the screw. The post may also be canted to one side or the'other, if it should be necessary to give a sidewise range to the arms.

In Fig. 1 the plate L is shown as provided with screw-holes, whereby it may be screwed permanently to a shelf-edge; but in order that the device may be portable it may also be provided with a clamp-screw, L P, Fig. 3, whereby it may .be quickly secured upon the edge of any table or shelf, and be readily removed therefrom without damage thereto.

This deviceis convenient for the lecturer, for the music-teacher, and others who must frequently refer to a book, or for the ease and comfort of any person in reading books.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

IOO

1. The combination, with the standard G, bifurcated at its upper end, and means of securing it to a table or other support, of the sector E, pivoted in the fork of the standard and provided with a stem, Q, the spring H around the standard. the shoe J between the spring and sector, and the arms C,seeured upon the stem of the sector, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with the standard G, bifurcated at its upper end, the head D, and two arms, C, rigidly secured therein, the sector E, having the headed stem Q inserted and secured loosely in the head D, and the spring H between a portion of the standard and the sector, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of the standard G, biiurcated at its upper end and slotted along its lower portion, the arms C, secured in the standard by a universal joint, the securingpiece L, and the screw llLpassng through the slot in the standard into the said piece L, substantially as shown and described.

4. As an article of manufacture, a book-leaf holder comprising a standard slotted in its lower portion and bifurcated in its upper portion, a securing-piece and screw therefor', a pair of arms universally jointed to the top of the standard, and a spring acting between the standard and the universal joint, substantially as shown and described, whereby the post may be secured upon a table or other support and be capable of vertical adjustment, and the said arms can rock to adapt themselves to a book whose two open pages are out of level, and the arms can be held either upon the book or away therefrom, as required.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JESSE D. MCCLURE.

NVitnesses:

J oI-IN R. SHADBURN, Jr., EUGENE S. M UIR. 

